Boombamela

I can't believe we did this a second time. It was so crazy last year, we didn't think we'd go back. But this year because Eliyahu was having an interfaith gathering, we got complimentary tickets for the 3 day festival on the beautiful sand-dunes of Nitzanim beach.

I feel I need to point out the "only in Israel" bits here. First of all, Eliyahu left the tickets in an envelope outside his door which is on street level in a busy area. No one took the envelope, even though he wrote "tickets" on the outside. Then, I left my digital camera at a stand inside the festival. After 1/2 an hour, when I realized it was not in my purse, I saw it there still. I had bought a wine glass before the holiday and left it in a shoe store. Yesterday it was still there and we took it home. So I thought this all very very cool.

We were walking along the route getting our bags checked at the entrance. I brought my Arabic lesson book with me and Hubby had matza (unleavened bread we eat during the holiday) wrapped up in tin foil, which was looking terribly suspicious and the took it out and unwrapped it thinking perhaps we'd brought 1000 grams of cocaine or ecstasy tablets to the festival. We actually did this festival straight.

The first tent we got to was the Shiva Ashram. It was elaborately done up with 2 Indians Babas sitting there silently and someone serving chai tea all day long. I laughed and told Hubby I don't really feel comfortable sitting in the shiva tent because shiva is a word we use when someone dies and you have to "sit shiva" for 7 days. There was a holistic area and we passed the Ayurvedic tent. Hubby, walking ahead of me, thought I said Iron Maiden was here.

After a few hours we met up with Eliyahu on the beach who had brought in 25 Arabs from the North on a bus. It was impossible to bring in West Bank Arabs even if they had permits because there was a total closure for the Jewish holiday. But this place was shocking even for the Israeli Arabs looking at all the string bikini chicks walking around - and opinions ranged from "how disgusting" to "isn't it great everyone's having fun". One young man couldn't contain his mixed emotions - was it disgusting to see all these "free" women running around, or was it just plain wonderful? He was sitting in the group watching everyone and screaming everything from "Allahu Akbar" to " Hey gingi(redhead) come over here and talk to me! Why are all the women here such snobs". And he kept on heckling a few others.

I spoke with a psychologist from Arab Kfar Qassem who seemed angry that the summer Sulha will be taking place with neighboring Jewish Rosh Haayin. "They take our lands and build their industrial section on our lands and we have to pay taxes to Rosh Haayin. I wouldn't mind if they build on our land and then the property taxes go to us, but it goes to them. How can you make a sulha with these people??" I listened to him rant for 20 minutes and told him not everyone knows this, and don't blame all the people of Rosh Haayin for it. They probably don't know. They certainly don't know each other too well. The Sulha will perhaps change that.

We made a big circle around the bonfire that was being lit at dusk and the organizers called up a few of the Arabs to speak. There were several hundred people around the circle who, a few minutes earlier, were doing some strange-looking energy-imbibing slow-hugging thing with their eyes closed, to Indian music. Two of the young Arab women joined in their circle and actually enjoyed that new-age experience. When the bonfire was lit, we all danced like dervishes and joining us were Indian Babas with lit coals on their head and Native Americans. The young Arab heckler even stopped heckling to take the microphone and sing Arabic songs while the Israelis drummed on darbukas and the rest of us danced around the fire.

We had dinner at the Prayer area, where the religious Jews hung out. Hubby had stayed there earlier that afternoon while I went to get a massage at the holistic tent and met a few people who lived in settlements around the Hebron area. Needless to say, we caused a few mouths to open as the Arab women, covered from head to toe, with their families arrived. "Are those Arabs?" asked one person incredulously as we took our place inside the tent for dinner. But as soon as we sat down, one of the Jewish women freaked and told security that she saw one of the Arab women put "something" under the mat. They checked the area and told the paranoid woman it's nothing. I didn't see any of this going on (Hubby did), but wished I had because I would have told that woman to sit down with us. Most people wandered over to our group very curious.

We took Ibrahim home around 10:00 pm but Hubby got sick and couldn't drive just as we were leaving the place. After about 1/2 an hour and a loud vomit, Hubby felt better, but Ibrahim called for someone to sit near him in case he got sick again. The Lakota Indian healer who lives in Jerusalem came to our rescue. He's actually half Indian, half Israeli. His name is Shuki and claims he's the only North American Indian that can speak Yiddish as well as Lakota.

"No you're not. Didn't you see Blazing Saddles" I asked? and we laughed at the parody of Indians speaking Yiddish.